Archive for the Series Category


Princess Knight Anime, Part 1 – Disk 2 (English)

October 3rd, 2013

After a rather stressful Disk 1, Disk 2 of Princess Knight settles down. Starting with the final episodes of the first disk,  Sapphire – referred to in the dub as “Prince Knight,” or “Knight” for short – sets off on more adventures.  Of course Duralamin and Nylon still slaver over her uncomfortably and their continuing obsession about her sex is always squicky. Knight’s energy is mostly spent protecting her kingdom from being invaded by shark necromancers and fighting wars on behalf of flower kingdoms. Knight even gets a moment to shine as she goes on an epic quest to save her mother from a poisoned flower.

It is during this last adventure where Knight meets the dashing young Prince Frank (Franz of the manga.) Prince Frank thinks young Knight is funny, always trying to outdo him. Something inside of Prince Frank is clearly resonating to Knight – when he gives the younger Prince a flower, Knight says she doesn’t like flowers, but Frank assures him that he will, someday.

Because we know the two of them are destined to be together, it seems to me that the vibe begins right away. While Knight seeks to establish equal status with Frank, Frank sees him as “cute.” Is the storyline not-so-subtlely reinforcing Knight’s femininity (and therefore her inferiority) even as she herself maintains that they are  equals, or am I working *way* too hard as I watch this out of the corner of my eye while I work? ^_^

Without a doubt, I far prefer the adventure stories to the obsessive creeping of Duralamin and Nylon. They are portrayed as so unambiguously mystery play-style evil they might as well have names like Duke DoNoGood and Sir Henchman. It leaves no room at all for the kind of masterful storytelling one associates with Tezuka. We get a glimpse of this when Knight is fighting off an evil plot to start a war and destroy the Prince of Roses, when she rejects Duralamin’s blustery, dangerous patriotism. (Gee, who does this remind me of….oh, wait, every politician ever, right.) Give me a good old fashioned shark invasion any day.

Ratings:

Art – 4
Characters – 7
Story – 7

Overall – 7





Ghost in the Shell: Arise – Border 1 (English)

October 2nd, 2013

GitSAriseboxHaving watched Ghost in the Shell since it first arrived on western shores I, like so many other fans, have had a few questions about Major Kusanagi. Who is she? How did she get a fully cyborg body, where did she come from, what her family was like…these all seem pretty reasonable questions, when you think about it.

Ghost in the Shell: Arise 01: Ghost Pain answers these questions – without actually removing much of the mystery behind Kusanagi. Although we now know how she meets Aramaki, Batou, Paz and Togusa, there’s still way more questions than answers we have about her life. With luck, none of them will be addressed in future episodes. ^_^

The main strength in Arise, is that someone with little to no knowledge of the Ghost in the Shell franchise – and the ability to flow with a cyberpunk-y, slightly non-linear narrative – will have no trouble following this story. (Completely unlike Innocence, for instance, which makes little sense if you have not seen at least some of the other GitS franchise.) You do not need to know Kusanagi Motoko – Arise will introduce more about her than we have had in all the previous series.

Of interest to me was Motoko’s superior, Kurutsu, who was a character design that could only exist in anime. Long yanki-style skirt over black leather pants, no bra, shirt open to the navel…what military is this again?  I had very much hoped that she and Motoko would end up fighting, because Kurutsu so wore the look of “mentor gone bad.”

The Japan Collector’s Edition contained Episode 01 on Blu-Ray,  a few frames of “film” of Batou and a booklet with commentary and character designs.  The episode comes in just shy of an hour so whether you feel its expensive, will depend on how you feel about paying for your anime.

The plot is convoluted, and has obligatory government corruption, brain hacking and a fair amount of fanservice, so if looking at Kusanagi in underwear or naked is high on your list, bonus points for you. It is a solid OVA (OBDA, maybe, since it’s a Blu-ray?) for GitS.  I’m definitely looking forward to Ghost in the Shell: Arise – Border 2.

Ratings:

Art – 9 Top notch, except in a few scenes. Faces in 3/4 profile still seem to be the most challenging for animators.
Story – 8
Characters – 7 Comfy, rather than good
Yuri – 0 (I was really hoping for something between Kusani and Kurutsu, sad face)
Service – 6

Overall – 8

My very very since thanks to  an anonymous Okazu hero for sponsoring today’s  review! It was so much appreciated  – and enjoyed! It would be even better if you tell me who you are, so I can thank you.





Hayate x Blade Manga, Volume 18 (はやてｘブレード)

October 1st, 2013

In an industry filled with series prematurely ending, or fading out after hanging around just slightly too long, or long-lived series sputtering to an end a decade after the readers have moved on, it’s not often we’re around to see a well-told story come to a well-told end. It’s even rarer to face the end of a beloved series without tears and accompanying whimpers of self-pitying whining. ^_^ Here we are at Hayate x Blade, Volume 18. The End.

The Black Group has declared their purpose – they will bring Tenchi Gakuen to its knees by snatching all of the students. Unfortunately for them, those same students have developed tough muscles and thick brains in their time at Tenchi and have no intention of going down without a fight.

And while the Black Group fighters meet their matches all around the school, Hayate faces Maki, while Ayana faces her inner demons and fights Yukari. It’s not as emotionally crushing as it might have been, since Yukari has set the past aside and encourages Ayana to let go of hers. Eventually they are able to battle each other with everything they have.

Hayate and Ayana…lose their matches.

Hitsugi brings the Black Group encroachment to an end, by unmasking the leader of the enemy – Hajime is actually her cousin. And Hitsugi comes to a conclusion.

Her time as Chair of Tenchi has been fun, she tells the gathered students, but she wants to return to a more normal life. To that end, she is stepping down as Chair of the school and President of the Student Council. Furthermore, she’s splitting the student body into 2 dorms  – one headed by Hajime, the other by Kurea (whose punishment will never end, seemingly.) Sword-bearing students will still be able to fight, but the rules (and I’m guessing, the uniforms) will change. In two months, students will need to decide which dorm they will align themselves with. I’ve been guessing which pairs will go where since I read this the first time. ^_^

All the while this is going on, Hayate is visiting Tanpopo Garden, to present Chiharu with the school’s deed and to announce that she and Ayana have been awarded A rank.

The series comes to an end officially as Shizuku rings the gong, announcing the next round of Hoshitori.

The epilogue consists of Hayate (and Ayana) handing out Shigeru Family cat mascots to willing and unwilling (and confused, poor Kei,) recipients, as the students consider which dorm they will join.The volume ends with Hitsugi and Shizuku considering their mascots, while everyone else heads out to practice, as they all wait to use their swords in the Hoshitori once again.

I would write something really touching and emotional right about now, however I have already read the prologue of the new series and it begins with a visual gag that is spit-take inducing – it is this gag that is used as the promo for the prologue and now I’m laughing again.

So long Hayate x Blade! It’s been fun.

Welcome Hayate x Blade 2!  We look forward to meeting you.

Rating:

Art – 9
Story – 10
Characters – 9
Yuri – 0
Service – 0

Overall –  10

Thank you, Hayashiya-sensei, for being one of the best storytellers in manga. ^_^





Princess Knight Anime, Part 1 (English) – First Impressions

September 17th, 2013

rsdvd1378I’m currently reading a book on early 20th century Japanese girl’s literature and culture and the author carefully cautions readers to not interpret relationships through the lens of modern lesbian culture and I simultaneously thought, “Obviously” and “Screw that.” Obviously, because the girls themselves, living lives largely segregated from boys would not necessarily have interpreted their own forays into romantic, platonic love as “desire,” but screw that, because human nature does not change and some of those girls would have. I’ll talk about this more when I review that book, but it brings me to Princess Knight, Part One, from Nozomi/RightStuf.

I will not caution you to not interpret this cartoon in any particular way.

We know this was released in the late 1960s and we can see watching it, that it was heavily informed by Disney , Warner Brothers and Walter Lantz.  “Woop-woop-woop!” is the soundtrack of my youth, in many ways.  My youth, which, btw included Bugs Bunny cross-dressing as Carmen Miranda.

The Princess Knight TV series is new to me. I have seen the 3-episode series, but never the 1967-8 version. So, as I’m watching this release of Princess Knight, I’m honestly surprised at how much of a transgender narrative the beginning is. A Prince who is a girl, reminded at every turn that her life doesn’t match the gender role expectations of her body – and hounded by people who want to expose her. Wow, was I made uncomfortable by Duralamin and Nylon in this cartoon – far more than I was in the manga. Her mother rags on her to remember she is a girl, and not to forget herself, while her father rags on her to be a perfect boy. And *everyone* ignoring the fact that she is really quite fabulous as she is – a brave and strong and independent girl in pants.

As with Riyoko Ikeda’s Claudine, I can’t help but wonder if Sapphire might have been satisfied with her sex if she was given the privilege, position and power she deserved. And this is exactly why I call BS on the “don’t interpret it” cautioners. Why wouldn’t we interpret and discuss this through our own lenses? Isn’t that why we’re here, talking about this stuff in the first place?  There are a lot of ways in which this story would not have conflict – if the Kingdom wasn’t entailed to a male heir; if Duralamin wasn’t evil; if Sapphire was content to be a boy all the time and never deviated from the script. But instead, Sapphire wants the privilege of being a Prince, with the chance to indulge in the role of Princess, and to be left alone to be who she wants to be. It’s pretty obvious that, like Erminia after her, the idea of being Queen to some King  who will protect the country, never enters her mind as a pleasant option.

Let’s fully engage in interpreting Princess Knight through a modern lens. Is Sapphire transgender? Is she a cross-dresser? Is it merely because she is robbed of the ability to live and rule as herself that she indulges/delughts in dressing as a boy? Is she someone who now might consider herself genderqueer? My feelings are that she’s perfectly happy with the body of a girl and the privilege and independent life she gains as a boy. A happy tomboy who would be just that much happier if everyone got off her case. Your thoughts in the comments, please. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – Infamously low quality, but I was alive in ’67…what wasn’t low quality?
Characters – Pastiches of tropes of archetypes
Story – Rather more uncomfortable-making than I expected

Overall – 7

Thank to the generosity of TRSI for this review copy, And thanks to them,  I have 2 copies of this DVD to give away, so if you want to ponder the “do not ponder”ables of watching a 50 year old story with modern eyes, put your name and country next to you comment to win the set!





End of Hayate x Blade

September 6th, 2013

hxbend“And so, we all became idiots.”

With this title, the final chapter of Hayate x Blade begins.

The Black group has been defeated. Hitsugi announces that she’s restructuring the entire school.

Sword bearers will chose one of two dorms – Tenkuu or Daichi- to live in. The Daichi dorm will be overseen by Hajime, leader of the Black group. The Tenkuu dorm will be overseen by Kurea.(You may remember that in Volume 5 Kurea and Midori challenged Hitsugi and Shizuku and lost.  13 volumes later, Hitsugi is still punishing Kurea.)

We also learn that Ayana and Hayate have been awarded, at last, A Rank. But, we also learn that top ranks will be demoted, purely for Hitsugi’s amusement, no doubt. Not last, certainly not least, Hitsugi announces her retirement as school Chair so she can spend her last year as a regular student.

In the final chapter, as the students decide if they will align themselves with the Black group dorm or the Tenchi dorm, Hayate runs off to Tanpopo Orphange to give Chiharu the school lease. Hayate has achieved her goal – Tanpopo will never be in danger again. She then runs around Tenchi giving out cat-mascots to all the major players who were without them. 18 volumes, 2 publishers and 8 years later,   the series comes to an end. Oh, wait, no it doesn’t. Next issue will be an epilogue…

…and then a new series! Hayate x Blade 2!

Best news I’ve had all year.

Dear Hayashiya-sensei,

Please never stop writing this series. It is my favoritest thing ever.

Thanks,

Erica